101-Year-Old Grandma Explains Why She Turned to Drug Trade

A 101-year-old great-grandmother, Esther Ogunmabo, has explained that she ventured into drug sales after fire destroyed her provisions shop.
Ogunmabo was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Ilisan, Ogun State, with 90 grammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, packaged in small sachets for sale to residents.

According to the NDLEA, Ogunmabo told its operatives that one of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, supplied the cannabis to her every four days, after which she sold it in small quantities.
The NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the arrest was part of the agency’s ongoing operations across the country.
The statement partly read, “NDLEA operatives on Saturday, August 15, 2026, arrested a 101-year-old woman, Esther Ogunmabo, in Ilisan, Ogun State, with retail sachets of skunk, a strain of cannabis, weighing 90 grams, which she claims she sells to locals.
“The centenarian told operatives that she resorted to the illicit drug trade after her provisions shop was razed by fire, adding that one of her daughters, who resides in Lagos, arranges the supply of the substance to her every four days, which she in turn sold in bits.”
Babafemi said the NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), directed that Ogunmabo be granted bail and placed on counselling because of her age.
He added that her daughter had also been arrested.